Sadlowski Suggests More to His Golf Game Than Big Shots

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(Gord Montgomery/iG) — Two-time Re/Max World Long Drive champ Jamie Sadlowski has proved he can go deep into the grid when needed. Now he’s showing he can go deep on scorecards as well. Sadlowski, from St. Paul (AB), opened some eyes and got tongues wagging when he played in a U.S. Open local qualifier at The Country Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ recently. And he didn’t just play — he won the event, going 7-under par over the 18 hole test.
The thing is, the 27-year-old noted, he hadn’t even planned on playing in the first stage of making a run at landing a spot in the historic U.S. Open tournament.
“This was my first crack at it. The pre-qualifier was right next to me in Scottsdale. My agent planned this for me; I didn’t really want to do it. I had a few days off after being on the road for a couple of weeks doing some (corporate) outings, so I took four or five days to practice, sharpen things up. I went with no expectations.”
Despite being best known for sending golf balls into orbit with anything from a driver to a putter (which he can hit well over 200 yards by the way) Sadlowski is actually a very good all-round player. He’s appeared in web.com Tour events, making three of four cuts in the recent past, so for him, teeing it up in something like the pre-qualfier wasn’t too far from the norm nor too stressful.
“Obviously my world is corporate outings and whatnot but I do enjoy playing,” he said. “Whether I’m at home, or Scottsdale, I love playing good golf so I do work at it but it’s not something I can do every day. I’ve always been able to turn it on and play well. It would be nice to get some rhythm, play four or five events, because I think I could play well for a stretch. But with no card, and nowhere to play, and my focus being on corporate events,” he just isn’t able to make the necessary time commitment.
“I had no expectations at all,” he repeated about what took place. “No matter if I’m playing a web.com event or just a match against someone, I obviously want to play well. I’ve always been able to turn it on under pressure.”
At the local qualifier, Sadlowski had Gary McCord, a former PGA TOUR player as his caddie. The two are friends who play together when they can and as it turned out, the looper helped him immensely, especially with the shortest part of the game.
“I had McCord on the bag and he kept it pretty light. With his knowledge ... I putted pretty well that day. A lot of it comes down to not being able to read greens very well. I’ve never been a great greens’ reader. He was ‘the green’s going this way, right to left. Hit it on this line, 90 per cent speed, and it’s in.’ I think I had 11 putts on the front, or 10. I just got things rolling there.”
Having now moved to the second stage of qualifying for one of the PGA’s biggest major championships, things are going to be a bit tougher. Whereas he was up against good amateur players in the pre-qualifier, Sadlowski will now go head-to-head against PGA TOUR players without an exemption into the big show, plus other nationally- and world-ranked amateur players. He also doesn’t know if he and McCord can again team up, given hectic work schedules.
“I’ll find out Thursday (May 25) or Friday where my sectional is, and if it’s in Columbus (Ohio), Gary said he’d be on my bag for all 36 holes,” Sadlowski continued. “He’s there for the Memorial, and I’m there as well, doing a couple of outings, so hopefully I can get into the sectional in Columbus.”
No matter where this road leads, the big hitter said, his game plan would likely take a turn from what he did in Arizona to what he feels he needs to do to again advance. In the first event he used his driver three times over the 18 holes, preferring to use his 2-iron instead, which he hits in the area of 320 yards and “down Main Street.”
“I don’t have much expectation,” he said of his next stop. “I’m going to be in a big field with PGA players who do this for a living. I don’t. Am I capable of making eight or nine birdies in 18 holes? It’s 36 holes so it’s not like I can go out there and play conservative. I’m going to play aggressive because in these qualifiers, you’ve got to go deep. I think if I make eight or nine (birdies) per 18, I’ve got a good chance. It’s either going to be real low or not. That takes a lot of pressure off and I can just play a real aggressive game. Connect the dots. Obviously you have to play smart but on the holes where you can hit driver, I plan on that and using my length to my advantage. I can’t play complete Small Ball with these guys because that’s not my game. If I can use length to my advantage, I’m obviously going to do so.”
At this point, the conversation took a turn away from attempting to play in the U.S. Open through qualifications to playing full time on one tour or another. While Sadlowski had always stated in past interviews with Inside Golf he wasn’t overly interested in tour life, preferring a steady, guaranteed paycheque thanks to his corporate work as opposed to chasing money at tournaments, things seem to be turning.
“Gary has always been after me to try and play. The successes I’ve had, I honestly think I can play. For me, it would be a three year commitment. If I couldn’t do it in three years I would go back to what I’m doing now.
“Doing the corporate stuff is great and everything but I feel, you know, at one point it was fulfilling, my job, my life. But I’ve had a lot of people who are very successful players, teachers who teach the top players in the world, saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got to give this a try. You’d be stupid not to.’
“So, as of right now, I’m going to go to Q-School this fall and give it a try. That could all change depending on what happens in the near future but I think this will be the fall I spend a lot of time working on my game and getting ready for (web.com) Q-School.”
So, even though he can still rip it and will continue going deep at the Re/Max World Long Drive event, this latest step of hitting more than just drives plus going deep on the scorecard, is now driving the Albertan toward what could be a new adventure in the world of golf.

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About the Writer
Gord Montgomery is a retired sports editor of two weekly newspapers in the Edmonton area and is a member of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. He is now in his eighth year of writing for Inside Golf. He can be reached at noraltagolf@gmail.com. He’s also on Twitter at @gordinsidegolf.

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Major Manufacturers Roll Out New Products For Edmonton, Calgary Golf Shows

Be advised swing-starved Albertans in Edmonton and Calgary — help is on the way.

On March 5 - 6 in the capital city and then March 19 - 20 in its southern sister, six major club manufacturers will be strutting their stuff at the indoor ranges set up at the PGA of Alberta Consumer Golf Shows. And believe me, there will be plenty of new products to test drive. And chip. And putt.

Rick Lea, the Territory and Key Accounts Manager for Cobra Puma Golf in southern Alberta said these shows are a big deal for product demonstrations and roll-outs. And yes, this is all brand new, right-out-of-the-box gear we hackers get to lay our hands upon.

“Absolutely. We set up on the range with all our new product and people are welcome to hit it,” Lea confirmed. “We don’t sell product on the floor at the shows. Rather, we refer people to the golf courses, or retailers. Typically, in the case of the (Alberta) PGA, we point them toward their own clubs. We don’t do any sales off the floor though. We are just demoing product, informing people what they might need or what they’re looking at.”

Cobra Puma will have all their new lines on display at both shows.

“All the new KING product line will be there. It’s the re-launch of KING after many years and this is, honestly, the best technical product in the industry,” said Lea of the new F6 adjustable driver. “It’s had rave reviews since being introduced. The R&D behind it is really unsurpassed in the industry.”

As well, the KING LTD and  MAX fairway woods will make an appearance along with the FLY-Z Hybrids. To top all that off, the new KING Forged CB/MB and the KING Forged TEC irons will also be waiting to be put through their paces.

So why give this technology a go? Well the answer to that, said Lea, is simple. “Cobra is significantly and easier to hit, and more accurate than any brand on the market.”

One of the distributors that goes above and beyond when it comes to serving possible clients is Callaway, sales rep Jim McCulley explained as he teed off on what he has to offer at both shows.

“We put a large amount of effort into this to whet the public’s interest,” including lots of hitting bays and a large putting area. Because of the amount of people at the shows, and those wanting to test out what’s new with Callaway, folks must be patient and not overstay their welcome once they get the green light to swing away, even despite the extra space afforded, McCulley said.

“We spend a little more money with the PGA to get extra stalls, so we’ve doubled up there. We’ll have a 10 by 10 Odyssey tent (with two mats) as well as a 10 by 10 Callaway (spot) with two hitting mats.”

The hitting/putting areas will be staffed by four people including a tech rep and two CPGA pros. “We try to limit guys. We won’t tear them off the mat. We try to give everyone five to 10 swings just to give everyone a chance,” to taste what’s new for the upcoming year, McCulley explained about sharing.

As for the lineup of hard goods Callaway is carting into both shows, it’s a lot.

“I’ll definitely have a full complement of the new XR16 products, the drivers and fairway woods as well as the XR over-size irons and hybrids. We launched the Great Big Bertha last September as well as the 816 Double Black Diamond and over the winter we launched the new Apex and Apex Pro forged irons, wedges and a new product (putter) we unveiled in Orlando from Odyssey called Toe Up,” so to say there are lots of clubs to waggle and flail is an understatement.

Another plus for stopping by the Callaway booth is the fact they’ll be giving away mini-sleeves of their new Chrome Soft golf balls to those who let fly with the new line of gear, /nd really, who’s going to argue with free stuff, no matter how long you might have to wait to take a few cuts.

Meanwhile, Ryan Bathgate from PING said his company is also rolling out the new hardware this year with high hopes the public likes what they see in their brand.

“I pretty much bring everything that we have to offer this year. That includes our new drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and a new, exciting line of clubs that’s new to the industry called a crossover.”

Pressed on what that line is all about, Bathgate explained it like this: “It’s a blend between a hybrid with characteristics of an iron but it’s not a driving iron. Our new product line is called the “G”.

"In terms of how it fits in, it is between an iron and a hybrid with the materials we’re using and the hollow body design where we’re seeing ball speeds and launch angles similar to a hybrid but because it has a flat face, you’re getting characteristics and control closer to an iron.”

Shows like this are key to getting new products into the public’s hands, said Bathgate.

“I think they get a fair opportunity to try the product, absolutely. It’s not like they’re coming for a fitting. Hopefully, the main goal is to get the exposure,” so the public player will seek out that line at a pro shop during the upcoming season.

TaylorMade will be well represented at both shows, Brian Howard, a sales rep with that company said. Their line includes several new models which will all be sitting and waiting for folks to whale away on the indoor ranges.

“Absolutely,” he said about the public having full access to the new gear. “We launched M1 back in September and we just launched the M2 family, so the M family is now complete.

"We have the M1 driver, fairway and rescue all with adjustibility. When you look at the M2, it’s all about forgiveness. The club’s designed slightly different with an adjustability component on the driver but with the fairway and rescue there’s not any adjustability, so it’s a little more cost effective.”

In the iron lineup, PSI and PSI Tour were released last fall and they are now joined by the M2 iron set. “I hate to use the term “game improvement,” Howard said of that line, “but these are definitely designed for the higher handicap player given their lower centre of gravity.”

As to his brand’s continued success in the golfing world, Howard said Philip Public likes to play the same gear as Peter Pro does.

“For sure. They like it quite a bit because with some of the other vendors it’s not the same product you see at retail. With our guys, it is the same product you see at retail,” other than for the fact the pros can tweak their clubs a bit more than the general public.

As for what the club reps think about taking part in these two-day golf extravaganzas, perhaps the Callaway guy summed it up best.

“These shows help drive consumer interest and they are an unofficial kickoff to the season. The whole purpose of the shows is to kind of whet your whistle. Give people the chance to see, touch, feel and hear,” the new offerings all the major club manufacturers have as a new season begins to draw near.

About the writer: Gord Montgomery is a retired sports editor of two weekly newspapers in the Edmonton area and is a member of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. He is now in his eighth year of writing for Inside Golf.
He can be reached at noraltagolf@gmail.com. He’s also on Twitter at @gordinsidegolf.

Alberta Golf Shows just around the corner

It's February and it's snowing - again - in the Edmonton area. So what else is new?

Well, truth be told it's been a pretty nice winter temperature- and snow-wise, thus one's early golf expectations begin to bounce around right about now. And with the two golf shows on the horizon, it's only right that we golfers begin to get the itch.

I've spent the last few days chatting with folks who will be displaying product or showcasing their travel destinations and needless to say, my appetite has been whetted for what to come.

Yeah, the Edmonton show is still three weeks away (March 5 - 6) and Calgary's goes later than that (March 19 - 20) but just talking golf gives one the itch.

While the Edmonton show is always smaller than its counterpart, there should still be some interesting things going on there.

All the big club manufacturers will be there and it sounds to me like Callaway is perhaps the one that is most prepared to handle the onslaught of the curious public. Their sales rep for the northern part of Alberta, Jim McCulley, told me they'd likely have double the space of any other distributor there in order to let everyone whale away with this brand's newest gear. That means two hitting bays and two putting areas and to top that off, after you've finished the test drive with any club, you'll receive a two-pack of the new Chrome Soft golf balls, something McCulley feels will be a benefit to the mid- to high-handicap player.

The brand with the most new products to show off appears, not surprisingly, to be TaylorMade. Their rep, Brian Howard out of the Calgary area, said they'd have all their new M1 and M2 family on hand, along with some other product they've released in the recent past.

Besides that, the biggest draw for the show may well be the wildly popular Clearance Centre set-up. Gary Christenson, the head pro from the Sturgeon Valley GC told me that this area usually houses upwards of $1 million worth of out-dated merchandise. That simply means it's last year's gear, not brand new stuff and as such golf clubs are looking to deplete their stock of "old" merchandise in order to bring in more new toys.

Christenson did say during our conversation that he feels the "best buys" in the centres at both shows are full sets of clubs. The reason for that is twofold with the most important factor being these sets won't have seen the price increases that are hitting the Canadian marketplace today given the weakened dollar.

Topping that off is these 2015 brands are reduced in price, so the savings are immense. Of course, to get the best deal you have to be at the show(s) early and ready to dig through all kinds of goodies in this area.

Besides full sets there are all kinds of clothing, shoes, balls, accessories and on and on. The only real prerequisite for taking advantage of this, as far as I can tell, is perhaps being ready to patiently wait to make it to the cash register to pay for your purchases because the lines can be long.

There area slso lots of prize giveaways, particularly in Calgary, but Edmonton likely has several as well although they aren't listed as of yet. The biggest one of the bunch seems to be a 6-day vacation to Vancouver Island with six rounds of golf which will be awarded at both shows.

In order to attend, you will need an entry ticket but those can be had online at albertagolfshows.ca or at the door. General admission is $10 for those 13 and over; $8 for seniors over 65; and kids 12 and under are freeThe first 50 people in the door at each show will receive a free Canada Golf card.

The Edmonton show takes place in Hall H at the Edmonton Expo Centre; in Calgary it's in Hall B at the BMO Centre.

Maui's Plantation Course a true test of game management

It was, as they say, an offer too good to pass up.

After all, if you're a golf fanatic/lowly paid media type and the chance comes to play one of the top golf courses in Hawaii the day after the PGA TOUR left the premises, with the same tee boxes and pin placements, believe me you're going to jump on it with both feet - regardless of the time you have to roll out of bed.

I had the opportunity to play the wonderful, spacious, intimidating Plantation Course on Maui less than 18 hours after Patrick Reed defeated Jimmy Walker in a playoff for the 2015 Hyundai Tournament of Champions title. While it's now over a year since then, I'm still on a high from the experience.
Oh, did I mention it was free? That's a win/win in my books.

Now don't get me wrong. I know I'm nowhere good enough to play this track from the tips which sit at 7,411 yards. Believe me, the tees anywhere in front of that are challenging enough.

Continually seen as the No. 1 course in all of Hawaii, not only is the golf great on this track designed by the team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, but the ocean views from up high on the slopes of the West Maui Mountains are magnificent.

Off the Regular blocks, you're faced with almost 6,700 yards of challenges starting on the opening hole, a 434-yard downhill, right to left sloping beauty where your second shot is the key. By the way, if you want to play it like the pros, this becomes a 520-yard par 4 behemoth.

Things don't necessarily get much easier from that point on, but the second, third and fourth holes, again from the Regular tees, do give you a bit of a break, playing to 196, 352 and 317 yards respectively. After that though, the real test of both your game, and your composure, begins in earnest.

The par 5 fifth is one of the narrower fairways at Plantation - although it is still wide - but if you stray too far sideways you're in big trouble with jungle left and a huge canyon right. The third shot is decision time on this hole, especially if you find yourself on the right-hand side of the fairway as you need to fly the edge of the canyon into a large green guarded by steep walls.

The sixth is perhaps the neatest hole on the front nine, another par 4 and "only" 378 yards (398 from the tips; 362 from the Resort tees) with a blind tee shot and approach into a green that slopes severely from left to right. The trick here is to hit and stick because if your ball is rolling when it gets to the green, chances are it is going to scoot right off and bury itself on a steep slope in some nasty Bermuda grass up to 50 feet below the putting surface.

When you swing over to the back nine, you again get a bit of a break with the relatively easy par 4 10th, the dramatic par 3 11th where you hit directly at the ocean in the background and the par 4 12th where as long as you don't get a downhill lie off your drive, you can set yourself up for a good run at birdie.

Turning back into the mountains after that hole, you come to the short par 4 14th, an uphill hole where  the pros like to let it rip as they attempt to reach the putting surface in one. Again though, any kind of wayward shot here puts you in a world of trouble from deep, steep-faced bunkers to OB areas.

The 15th hole, the par 5 510 yard assignment from the Regular blocks is all about club selection. The third shot on the hole is uphill and if you choose the wrong club, and catch the false front, your ball is coming to rest right from where it started if not even farther back.

Then you hit the two big holes on this track, Nos. 17 and 18, where good games can go astray in a big hurry.

The 17th is a big par 4 that for the pros plays anywhere from 508 to 549 yards. While there's plenty of room to drop your opening salvo into, again it's the approach shot where you earn your money. From the Regular tees the hole tops out at 467 yards while from the Resort blocks it's a challenge at 428 yards.

Unless you choose to play cautious and lay up, your approach shot is again key to the hole. You must clear yet another huge canyon, this one protecting the left side of this green and truthfully that hazard is likely the graveyard for thousands of golf balls. Convert on that shot though and you'll walk away with par and be in the right frame of mind for the final test of the day - the dramatic, jaw-dropping par 5 18th.

From the back deck - and really, if you're here you've got to play from the spot where the pros do - your duty is to let out all the shaft you can. Aim at the chimney on the clubhouse and let 'er fly. If you judge properly, the trajectory of your ball, combined with the right to left downhill slope of the fairway will undoubtedly give you one of the longest, if not the longest drives of your life and one that you'll be talking about for years to come.

This hole isn't just all about the drive though. You need to play smart to stay out of yet another canyon down the left side that is definitely in play on the second  shot. Coming into the green you need to stay above the hole as anything below it is going to roll off and into a bunker.

The keys to scoring well here are relatively simple - play the right tee box; learn how to read the greens and don't step outside your comfort zone by attempting to make impossible shots. The thing is, no matter what you score this is one golf course you'll relive playing and once a year can compare your results on each and every hole with those carded by the pros. Also, remember you're playing at close to sea level so club distances can vary greatly.

Overall, no matter how you fare in your round and where you play from, a round on the Plantation Course is one you'll always remember given its challenges and beautiful ocean views.

So even if you don't put on your big boy pants to take on this monster, do give it a go. It's definitely one of those bucket list courses and one you'll truly enjoy - even if unlike this lucky guy, you do have to pay the going rate for admission.

Wanna make some cash golfing? Give this tourney a try

To Todd Kuczma, bigger is certainly better. Thus, the director of BlackWolf Golf is taking what was a Calgary-based match play tournament and spreading it out across the country.

Not only that, he’s upping the number of players in his popular team golf event this yea and  he’s growing the prize money to go along with that.

And oh yeah, the free trip on a private jet to the final staging ground in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley is still part of the package for the finalists.

Kuczma, who noted this all began “in the office as a season long match play thing with 16 people,” has ballooned in popularity so he’s spreading the wealth, making this bigger because that is so much better for everyone.

From only being played in Calgary the last three years, where 256 players on two-man teams played for a $5,000 purse and that plane trip to the finals at Predator Ridge in Vernon in 2015, the event will now see a prize purse of $10,000 in 2016. And while the prize money has doubled, the host sites will triple this coming golf season.

With the demand for more places to qualify for the final, Kuczma has expanded the demographics of the tourney to include Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto.

Speaking of the new Edmonton addition, Kuczma said, “We’re looking for 128 teams, 50 per cent handicap. We’re flying out eight people on the jet and they’re playing for a $10,000 purse as well. And it’s the same thing for Vancouver. This is open to anybody; you can play with whoever you want.”

With that much prize money being offered to anyone taking part, Kuczma explained that those players afraid of losing their amateur status are protected.

“If you do happen to qualify for the jet, and you want to protect your amateur status, you’re not actually allowed to go on the jet,” he began. “We’ve protected the good amateur players, guys who may have a full scholarship at an NCAA college. We partnered with Golf Canada and those guys have to sign a waiver that they’re not allowed to accept any cash, or accept a trip on the jet.

“For example, last year Patrick Murphy (from Crossfield, AB, who is at UCLA on a golf scholarship) kind of waltzed through his five matches and won himself a spot on the jet. He had to give his spot up on the jet. You are allowed substitutes so his partner got one.

“You are protected (as an amateur),” as long as no prize money/gifts over $1,000 change hands. “Anything over $1,000, you are suspect to turning professional. We want to protect those players for sure.”

About the prize money, the purse is broken down this way: A Side Champions – $3000 + Trip; A Side Runner Up – $1500 + Trip; 3rd Place – $750 + Trip; 4th Place – $500 + Trip; A Side Quarterfinalists – $400 each.
B Side Winners – $1000; B Side Runner Up – $600; B Side Semi Finalists – $300 each.
Purse is based on 128 team field

There are certain timelines that competitors must adhere to through the playing season with the opponents in a region agreeing beforehand on a place and time to do battle. Kuczma indicated that he’ll have several golf courses in each of the qualifying sites available where players can book tee times at reduced green fees.

“As the matches get a little closer to qualifying for the trip, we do have designated neutral ground that is used,” he stated, thus letting the layers focus on the task at hand and not on where they should be playing.

The format is simple, said Kuczma.

“It’s two-man match play. Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto will be handicapped at 50 per cent. It’s just better ball match play.”

Speaking to the growth of this event, Kuczma said it’s due to a couple of things.

“It’s taken on a life of its own. It’s gathered a lot of steam and that seems to be from an underground word of mouth thing. Everybody knows about it. We haven’t had one person that’s played in it ever that didn’t play in it the next year.

“To say one thing, excluding the private jet thing which is unique, it’s value. Last year it was a $50 (per person) entry fee and each guy got a $40 first tee gift. Same thing with this year,” where the playing fee has risen to $100 per player for the team event and $200 for singles (64 players max), which accounts for the doubling of the prize purse.

As part of its community initiative, BlackWolf Golf has teamed up with the Kids Cancer Care Foundation in an effort to help youngsters and their families thrive in body, mind and spirit.

While the Calgary tournament is a virtual sellout already, there is still lots of room in the other two Western tournaments. Entry is on a first-come, first-served basis, up to 128 teams at each locale. For more on the event, and on past tournaments, go to blackwolfgolf.com. To enter, give Kuczma a call at 403-742-5013.

Oilers (Entertainment Group) teeing it up even earlier than usual

 Never let it be said that the ownership group of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers don't think about looking after their players in the off-season. After all, how else do you account for them purchasing the rights to a Mackenzie Tour -
PGA Tour Canada stop in Edmonton this summer?

The Oilers, who have missed the NHL post-season for a decade, likely won't find themselves battling it out for top money in the newest stop on the old Canadian Tour. However it is likely some of them will tee it up in the event's preamble to help the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) promote their new stop for the first time in Edmonton since 2012.

 The official announcement about the comeback was made on Jan. 21 at a media conference that included PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem via teleconference.

“This is an exciting announcement, a significant announcement that we are excited to share with you in the world of golf,” the day’s emcee, OEG’s Stu Valentine began.

Jeff Monday, the president of the Mackenzie Tour, agreed, saying “I am very excited to be with you today to announce the partnership between the Oilers Entertainment Group and the PGA Tour that will see the inaugural Oil Country Championship on the Mackenzie Tour in the great city of Edmonton.”

A large part of agreeing to the partnership by OEG was the fact that funds raised from events surrounding the tournament will be passed onto the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation. They contribute resources and financial support to charitable organizations in northern Alberta, with a focus on education and health and wellness for youth in Oil Country.

The first of five new tournaments that have been committed to by OEG and the Mackenzie Tour will be played from July 28 - 31 at the Glendale Golf & Country Club. It will be followed by the Windermere Golf & CC in 2017; the Edmonton Petroleum Golf &CC in 2018 and the Edmonton Country Club in 2019. A location for the fifth event has yet to be set.

Via teleconference Finchem expressed his “enthusiasm and excitement about this announcement. This is kind of a landmark development for the Mackenzie Tour and we are very pleased for a variety of reasons,” including partnering with OEG and player development through this, and other Mackenzie Tour events.

Tim Finchem noted the Mackenzie Tour will serve a strong fan base in the Edmonton area with its up-and-coming star players.

“We have a very rich history of partnerships in Canada,” Finchem continued, “and we look forward to extending that. We’ve always considered Canada what I call an intensive fan base. For a lot of reasons we see this as a very positive development for the Mackenzie Tour.”

Bob Nicholson, the vice chair and CEO of OEG noted how great an opportunity this is for his company as well as the game of golf.

Bob Nicholson, the CEO of the Oilers Entertainment Group, expressed delight in having his organization tie in with the PGA Tour.

“Now we are going to start to brand ourself  in so many different ways with OEG. One of the key things when this opportunity came forward was making sure we were able to get into charities. I think this is going to open up so many more opportunities for OEG and PGA TOUR to work together and that’s the type of branding and footprint we’re looking for.”

Asked whether OEG would be seeking outside partnerships in order to handle the costs associated with the tourney given the  financial straits the province currently finds itself in, Nicholson replied that was a certainty.

“We will look for partnerships,” he began. “One thing we want to do is certainly have partnerships. The more we can have, the better, if it fits their needs. I certainly feel there is a lot of interest in this and after today, that much more.”

Nicholson continued by saying OEG would reach out to (Edmonton) Oilers players to take part in the activities of tournament week, “But we hope to go further than that, reach out to champions in Edmonton. We want to show we do have a lot of other athletes who have been involved in Olympics, World Championships, who have made their mark in other sports. We certainly will have Oilers alumni but we want to make sure everyone understands we will reach out to all the great athletes in this area.”

The head professional at the first stop on the rebirth of professional golf in Edmonton, Greg McGarry of the Glendale, said his club is thrilled to once again host a Canadian tour stop. The last time such an event took place there in 2009, James Hahn, now a PGA TOUR winner, claimed the title.

Greg McGarry, the head professional at the Glendale Golf &CC, will act as host at the first stop on the Mackenzie Tour as it returns to the Edmonton area.

“We’ve had a longstanding relationship with the tour, dating back to 1998 when we hosted the first Telus Edmonton Open/ It’s going to be an incredible field, an awesome partnership with the Oiler Entertainment Group. We’re very proud to be the inaugural host,” McGarry ended.

The Oil Country Championship will become the third stop on the Mackenzie Tour - PGA TOUR Canada with the others being in Calgary and Fort McMurray. In all, there are 12 tour stops across the country.

The best FAM trip, ever!

Golf journalism is a tough job ... but someone's got to do it.

I mean look at the hassles one has to face getting where one is going. The trip to the airport. Expensive parking at the airport. Security line-ups and delays inside the airport. People hacking and coughing on the airplane. And on and on.

But hey, I'm a trooper when it comes to answering the call on a FAM (familiarization) trip, so I'm right in there.

I have been afforded a few of these junkets while working for Inside Golf (insidegolf.ca) to such places as the premiere of Golf Channel's Big Break  Mesquite (AZ); a seven-day journey through the Rocky Mountain courses in Alberta and another journey down to the host site of the 2015 U.S. Open tourney at Chambers Bay (near Seattle). Yet my latest adventure, to the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, AZ tops all of those by a mile.

And it wasn't just the golf that was great in the West Valley of Phoenix. No, it was the "outside" offerings we were afforded by our hosts that made this trip something extra special.

Prior to the FAM beginning you're given a list of what's going to take place. This usually involves lots of golf and lots of food.  And yes, lots of fun.

And the trip to the Wigwam though had all that plus more. Lots more.

After a meet-and-greet the first day, we gathered for breakfast and golf the second day. After playing 18 holes on the redesigned Gold Course (a monster of a parkland track that's challenging but still fun) we had lunch and then began doing things I only dreamed about as a kid, or never dreamed of doing at all.

One of those that I'd never dreamed of was being afforded the opportunity to fly an F16 fighter jet. Well, OK. "fly" is maybe a rather broad term. What we were given the chance to do, after watching these war machines land and take off from about 200 yards away (the ground actually shakes when these jets take off!), was take over the controls in a simulator at Luke Air Force Base.

The F16's flight info centre - tough to focus on one thing with so many dials, buttons and switches in front of you!

As the only Canadian involved in this trip, my only thought was, "Don't cause an international incident by crashing your pretend jet into a populated area."

That didn't happen but at the same time, I can see why I never got a pilot's license. I was cruising along, quite happily I might add, when someone said to me, "Uh, you may want to slow down a bit. You're going so fast your jet, if it were real, would be disintegrating around you!"

Yeah, OK. So, where are the brakes for this thing?

The good news is I never did create a monster-sized pothole in the earth. The bad news, if you will, was that I never got to contact any "enemy" fighters so I never really had the chance to shoot at anything with the jets armament, other than the sky.  Well, maybe I "downed" a few clouds.

The real thing, which we didn't get to fly but in hindsight, that was probably a very wise decision on behalf of the United States Air Force!

The next day started with a trip to the Spring Training home of the Cleveland Indians where we six writers undertook a "homerun hitting contest" using golf clubs and golf balls. While it would seem easy to clear a fence only 110 yards away with a golf ball, the choice of clubs was limited to a 9-iron or wedge. Still not that far, true, but when you figure the fence was likely 30 feet high to replicate the Indians home park, Progressive Field, things did get a bit tougher (especially at my age and with my swing!)

I also had to hit the ball to right field, and as a left-hander, it was a somewhat awkward cut. In minor ball I was a spray hitter without a lot of power and it showed here, even with a golf ball. I took one over the fence in fair territory and another that was foul. As for the other three shots, I had a bit better than warning track power hitting the middle to lower third of the fence with each shot.

To top that off, I "ran" (and I use that term loosely) the bases which seemed awfully far apart!

The set-up for the HR contest at the Indians Spring Training site in Goodyear, AZ.

We then went into the hitting cages where I was able to take a few cuts. It's been years since I swung a bat with the thought of hitting any moving object so my timing was off, but I did connect solidly a few times, including one line-drive right back at the writer throwing the BP. That cared both of us, so that was the end of that.

Surprisingly, well maybe not so much, no one from the Indians office rushed out to sign me to a tryout contract, so I guess my days of dreaming of being a pro ball player are now officially over.

Maybe to help soothe feelings of dreams dashed, we then headed to the Phoenix International Raceway, or ZoomTown, USA, for some track action. While we weren't allowed to drive around the 1-mile oval track with a dogleg in the backstretch, I did ride shotgun. Officially we were going 75mph in the official pace car; unofficially it was somewhat faster (like over 100mph).

What intrigued me most was the things the NASCAR drivers look for while driving. This isn't as easy as simply always turning left. The "chauffeur" pointed out track signage that is used to accelerate or brake coming out of corners and the pylons, along the homestretch straightaway, that drivers use to count down to braking for a turn.

The pace car we rode in around the Phoenix International Raceway.

Since I thought those guys just got in and went it was interesting to find out how much timing and how many things there are to do out there - especially with 42 other cars zipping around at the same time.

From there it was back to the golf course for a few holes before dark, then dinner, than a whiskey taste testing put on by a local distributor that was enjoyed by all.

Sunset over the Gold and Patriot Courses at The Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, AZ.

The last day was quiet, a round of golf on one of the two other courses at The Wigwam I hadn't played and then it was back to the grind of being a golf writer - you know that whole airport thing in reverse.

Yeah, it's a tough job, but hey, somebody's gotta do it!